Decrease In or Decrease Of: Which One Is Correct?
Use decrease in when you want to talk about what is decreasing:
✅ The increased supply of jobs resulted in a decrease in unemployment.
❌ The increased supply of jobs resulted in a decrease of unemployment.
✅ We will soon see a decrease in property prices across the country.
❌ We will soon see a decrease of property prices across the country.
✅ Deforestation and poaching have led to a dramatic decrease in the number of Sumatran tigers.
❌ Deforestation and poaching have led to a dramatic decrease of the number of Sumatran tigers.
Use decrease of with a percentage or number when you want to talk about the amount or size of a decrease:
✅ We expect a price decrease of 10% this year.
❌ We expect a price decrease in 10% this year.
✅ The average price of an apartment has fallen from US$1.5 million to US$1.2 million—a decrease of 20 per cent.
❌ The average price of an apartment has fallen from US$1.5 million to US$1.2 million—a decrease in 20 per cent.
✅ There has been a decrease of 20,000 people in the population.
❌ There has been a decrease in 20,000 people in the population.
Examples from the Media
The UK's statistics agency said the 1.6% decrease in the volume of food sales appeared to be linked to inflation, which as measured by the consumer prices index hit a 40-year-high of 9.1% in May. —The Guardian (2022)
NSW has recorded 5582 new cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths, while Victoria has recorded 4867 new cases and nine deaths, both states seeing a decrease in cases in the past 24 hours. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2022)
Outbreaks in facilities like long-term care homes, group homes, and retirement residents have decreased as well. The EOHU reported 31 facilities in outbreak on February 7, a decrease of 10 facilities in the past week. —Toronto Star (2022)
The city recorded 61,600 deaths and 35,100 births between mid-2021 and mid-2022, leading to a decrease of 26,500 people. —South China Morning Post (2022)
Practice
Choose the correct preposition to complete each sentence.
1. There has been a steady decrease in/of the number of stray dogs over the past five years.
2. We had a decrease in/of approximately 12% in our sales.
3. Longer working hours will likely result in a decrease in/of productivity.
4. We saw a population decrease in/of about 4% last year.
5. There has been a sharp decrease in/of the number of skilled migrants.
6. There was a significant drop in attendance at football matches in December as a result of poor weather conditions, leading to a decrease in/of revenue.
Answer Key
1. in 2. of 3. in 4. of 5. in 6. in
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